


The One Where Steve Retires

by hazeleyedwriter



Category: Captain America (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Crack, Endgame, Fix-It, Gen, Post-Avengers: Endgame (Movie), Post-Canon, and how I want the sam/bucky show to go, disney pls hire me for the sam/bucky show I have some Ideas, give me a retired Steve who's still in the show but Over It, how endgame should have ended, should i tag this as, this started seriously but then I started having too much fun
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-23
Updated: 2019-05-23
Packaged: 2020-03-10 00:41:45
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,176
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18927805
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hazeleyedwriter/pseuds/hazeleyedwriter
Summary: “Peggy once told me that the best thing we can do is to start over,” Steve continued. “I think this should be my last battle. I’m gonna try to live without always fighting a war.”





	The One Where Steve Retires

**Author's Note:**

> So I was texting my best friend about how I wanted Steve's ending to go in Endgame and also some fun ideas about having him in the upcoming Falcon / Winter Soldier show and this happened. It started out seriously but then I started having too much fun. I hope you enjoy it as much as I enjoyed writing it!

“He’ll be gone for less than a minute for us, but it’ll feel a lot longer for him. You ready?” Bruce said.

“Hang on. I need to do something before I go,” Steve said. He went over to where his shield, now just a half of its former glory, rested against a nearby tree.

“Sam?” He said. Sam looked back at Bucky, who encouraged him forward with a look. “In case I don’t make it back, I want you to have this.” Steve passed the shield to Sam.

"Are you sure?” Sam hesitated.

“I’m sure. T’Challa and Shuri can probably get it fixed for you. And make sure Bucky doesn’t get into any trouble when I’m gone.”

“You act like I’m the one who always gets into trouble. I’ll have you know it’s you who always needs to be kept in line,” Bucky called. Steve and Sam chuckled, walking back to where Bruce and Bucky were standing. Bucky pulled Steve into a hug. He didn’t want to think about how this could be the last time he saw his best friend. Steve pressed his face into Bucky’s shoulder, thinking about how this must’ve been what Bucky felt like before he had left for war. They pulled apart, clapping the other on the shoulder, sharing a look they didn’t need words for. After a moment Steve stepped up onto the platform and took a deep breath.

“Ready now?” Bruce asked again.

"As ready as I’ll ever be,” he said. Bucky gave Steve a quick smile and Sam gave a nod, still holding the shield like he was only taking care of it for a friend. Banner pushed a couple buttons and then gave the go ahead for Steve to activate his Pym particle. He was gone in a split second.

“Do you think this is gonna work?” Bucky asked.

“We can only hope,” Sam replied, his eyes glued to where Steve had just disappeared.

“This is the longest minute of my-“ Sam was interrupted by a whizzing sound and Steve rematerializing before the three men.

“It worked?” Bruce said, as more of a question than a statement.

“It worked,” Steve answered. He sounded breathless, and Bucky was reminded of all those times they had outrun bullies when they were kids— Steve would need a good ten minutes before he could catch his breath. Bucky smiled at his old friend.

“You got all of them back?” Sam asked dubiously. Steve nodded, sitting down.

“And you didn’t have any issues?” Bucky decided to ask. He wasn’t quite sure what Steve would have encountered— none of them were. He wasn’t sure if he wanted to know what that was like, going back in time, returning the stones to their rightful timelines.

“There were a few issues, but nothing I couldn’t handle.” And that was all Steve said about it.

“You’re gonna need this back, man,” Sam said as he stepped forward with the shield. Steve put his hand up to stop him.

“It’s yours now. The world needs a new Captain America.” Sam’s jaw dropped. Bucky looked from Sam to Steve. Steve looked back at Bucky. Bruce busied himself by turning the machine off. “Peggy once told me that the best thing we can do is to start over,” Steve continued. “I think this should be my last battle. I’m gonna try to live without always fighting a war.”

 

And that’s what he did. Together with Sam, Bucky, and the remaining avengers Steve rebuilt the compound before settling down in a three bedroom apartment in downtown B Brooklyn. Sam and Bucky lived with him when they weren’t at the compound, training with the new superheroes or having crashed there after a mission. The peace and quiet lasted for about six months before his roommates brought home trouble.

It was the summertime, and Steve was content on his way home from the farmer’s market; he had gotten plums for Bucky and fresh squeezed orange juice for Sam, hoping that the new Cap wouldn’t drink straight out of the bottle and would leave some for the rest of them. But Steve knew that hoping for that was futile.

Steve quickly realized something was amiss— the front door was ajar and he could hear scuffling behind it. Suddenly the door flew open and a large man was thrown through it, almost into Steve if he hadn’t stepped back as quickly as he had.

“What the fuck-“ Steve stepped over the unconscious man and made his way into his apartment. It was a disaster; the couch had been flipped over to block the window, someone had punched the tv making it look like the time Sam hadn’t secured the Wii remote on his wrist and it had flown off while they had been having a very enthusiastic competition of Just Dance.

Steve looked around the apartment some more. He could fix the couch just by turning it up right; it might have a few bullet holes but hopefully that wouldn’t affect the fluffiness of the cushions too much. As for the tv, he could get another one. Again. Steve was most concerned with the kitchenware— it looked like someone had been using plates as frisbees and thrown them from the kitchen over the bar and into the living room. He turned as he heard more crashing coming from the kitchen. Sam and Bucky were in their pajamas, brawling with three guys in ski masks.

Steve trusted they had the situation under control, so he took the shopping bags into his bedroom and closed the door. It was one of those days where Steve was glad he had retired. He was concerned that he might have to move after this— he didn’t know who all had found out where they were living but he hoped that it was just the four ruffians Bucky and Sam were taking care of.

After about an hour of putzing around his room, Steve realized it had been quiet for a little too long. He poked his head out his door and when he still heard nothing, he grabbed the grocery bags and walked down the hallway and into the living room where Bucky and Sam lay on the floor.

“You guys doin’ okay?” Steve asked. Bucky’s metal arm lay on the other side of the room, next to Sam’s shield. Bucky groaned as Sam covered his face with his forearm. “Do I want to know what happened?” Steve continued.

“It’s Barnes’ fault,” Sam said. Bucky shot up into a sitting position.

“It was not,” he said.

“That’s not really an explanation but I can’t decide if I care,” Steve stepped over bits of broken porcelain and went into the kitchen to put the groceries away, finally. The only response he got was more grumbling and groaning. Once the juice was in the fridge and the fruit in the fruit bowl on the kitchen table Steve made his way back into the living room.

“I do have one more question though. You guys are gonna clean all this up, right?”


End file.
